By the time I pick my kids up from preK and kinder, it’s 5:00pm. Swinging by the drive though, I can have the kids in chairs eating by 5:20. Cooking a dead simple meal like spaghetti, we’re not eating until closer to 5:45, because of overhead in getting everyone in the house and situated to where I can focus on cooking while they play. It’s even worse if they have bad days, we’re eating closer to 6:00pm.
Nothing wrong with eating later, in fact we prefer it because fast food is kinda crap and I don’t really like them eating processed foods. But it definitely saves time, not to mention on the cleanup side too.
And no, can’t really multitask during the weekdays because the timing is so tight. I can do dishes as I go but that’s the limit because the kids start screaming at each other that their feet are touching or whatever the drama of the day is…
Yes and saving that time means there's more time to go to the park or the store on the way home, etc. without having to get everybody ready to go out again.
Also my kids are picky eaters (autism) so it's not like we only have to make one delicious and nutritious meal for everybody. It's more like two or three different meals, or my wife and I have to settle for buttered noodles or what have you. Eating out lets us get a different meal for each person and there's still a chance of the adults being able to eat something delicious and/or nutritious. Or we can get take-out for the kids and make our own dinner or vice-versa.
Nothing wrong with eating later, in fact we prefer it because fast food is kinda crap and I don’t really like them eating processed foods. But it definitely saves time, not to mention on the cleanup side too.
And no, can’t really multitask during the weekdays because the timing is so tight. I can do dishes as I go but that’s the limit because the kids start screaming at each other that their feet are touching or whatever the drama of the day is…